Meet Asya Haikin
You
were born in Russia and moved to this country as a young
adult. How has this experience influenced your teaching?
Having been exposed to different cultures gives me a broader perspective on day-to-day life. In Russia many people have material constraints that often cause stress, but they also often have more time to spend with their family and friends. What I see happening in the US, is that our lives get very complicated and we carry a lot of stress from the many responsibilities that come with material prosperity. We strive to improve our lives and in the process spend all the time on the improvement part, and have none left for the life wed like to lead. Its here that I believe yoga can help us gain a different perspective on our lives, and make time for what's really important for each of us.
If you could pick one yoga pose to do every day, what would it be? Why?
If I were to pick one yoga pose, it would defi-nitely be Downward Facing Dog Pose. First of all, it? a fun pose to do. It engages all parts of the body: arms, legs, torso, and makes me feel connected to my body and to the ground. It also takes me upside down to literally change my perspective of the world around. I like to move around in dog pose in the ways my body needs to move at that particular moment. This lets me be creative and light-hearted in my yoga practice.
You have a very flexible body. How has this challenged your yoga practice?
Having a lot of flexibility in some parts of the body, especially the shoulders, has taught me to adapt the poses I learn and the instructions I hear to my own needs. For example, while someone with tight upper body may need to stretch more through the shoulders in Downward Dog, I often need to back off and find more sta-bility. By using yoga to develop strength and find more stability in the upper body, I?e been able to greatly improve my posture. Also, when you are flexible in a certain area of the body, there are often tight areas around it that are much harder to access. So I often need to be creative to adapt poses so they serve me better. This reminds me that the same pose can mean completely different things to different people. It? not what you see in a picture, but what's hap-pening in your own body.
What book have you read in the past year that you would recommend? Why?
A book I've been reading this year that Id rec-ommend is A Path With Heart: A Guide Through Perils and Promises Of Spiritual Life by Jack Kornfield. The author shares his experience of many years on a spiritual path as a Western Buddhist. His message is that of self-acceptance. The book has guided meditations, as well as many amusing stories from his years of experi-ence as both a student and a teacher of medita-tion. It gives practical advice on meditation and on finding balance in your life. It? a great map through the land of self-discovery.
I would also like to recommend the Mahabharata and the Ramayana - two famous Indian epics that have been wonderfully retold by William Buck. These ancient tales will give you a new perspective on the world from which yoga tradition originates. I also find them to be fascinating fairy tales. Use the character list at the end of the book to help you remember who's who!
What gives you the greatest joy in teaching?
I love seeing how yoga positively affects people? lives. From little things, like a more relaxed face a student has at the end of class, to more lasting changes we've all experienced from yoga. It gives me continuous joy to be able to share yoga with people and to be part of the transformational process it initiates.